Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar;14(1):e12427.
doi: 10.1111/appy.12427. Epub 2020 Oct 21.

Prevalence of mental health problems and associated risk factors among military healthcare workers in specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Wuhan, China: A cross-sectional survey

Xiao Pan  1 , Ying Xiao  2 , Ding Ren  3 , Zheng-Mei Xu  4 , Qian Zhang  5 , Li-Ying Yang  6 , Fen Liu  7 , Yu-Shi Hao  1 , Feng Zhao  2 , Yong-Hai Bai  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of mental health problems and associated risk factors among military healthcare workers in specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Wuhan, China: A cross-sectional survey

Xiao Pan et al. Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: China has been severely affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since December 2019. Military healthcare workers in China have experienced many pressures when combating COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the current psychological status and associated risk factors among military healthcare workers.

Methods: We collected data from 194 military healthcare workers from three inpatient wards in two specialized COVID-19 hospitals using a web-based cross-sectional survey. The survey covered demographic information, the patient health questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the patient health questionnaire-15. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to explore potential risk factors for mental health problems.

Results: The overall prevalence rates of depressive, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptoms were 37.6%, 32.5%, and 50%, respectively. Rates of severe depression, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptoms were 5.2%, 3.6%, and 15.5%, respectively. In 22.7% of cases, comorbidities existed between depression, generalized anxiety, and somatization. A junior-grade professional title was associated with depression, older age was associated with generalized anxiety and somatization, and short sleep duration and poor sleep quality were associated with all three symptoms.

Discussion: The prevalence of depression, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptoms among military healthcare workers in specialized COVID-19 hospitals is high during the current COVID-19 outbreak. A junior-grade professional title, older age, short sleep duration, and poor sleep quality significantly affect military healthcare workers' mental health. Continuous surveillance and monitoring of the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak should be routine to promote mental health among military healthcare workers.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019; depressive symptoms; generalized anxiety; mental health; somatic symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cano‐Garcia, F. J. , Munoz‐Navarro, R. , Sese Abad, A. , Moretti, L. S. , Medrano, L. A. , Ruiz‐Rodriguez, P. , … Cano‐Vindel, A. (2020). Latent structure and factor invariance of somatic symptoms in the patient health questionnaire (PHQ‐15). Journal of Affective Disorders, 261, 21–29. 10.1016/j.jad.2019.09.077 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen, S. , Chiu, H. , Xu, B. , Ma, Y. , Jin, T. , Wu, M. , & Conwell, Y. (2010). Reliability and validity of the PHQ‐9 for screening late‐life depression in Chinese primary care. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(11), 1127–1133. 10.1002/gps.2442 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chinese National Healthcare Center . (2020a). Circular on issuing guiding principles for emergency psychological crisis intervention for new coronavirus pneumonia. Retrieved from http://www.nhc.gov.cn/jkj/s3577/202001/6adc08b966594253b2b791be5c3b9467....
    1. Chinese National Healthcare Center . (2020b). Occupational injury insurance supports occupational injury “protection umbrella” for prevention and rescue personnel in the fight against new coronavirus pneumonia. Retrieved from http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/fkdt/202001/0ffbb879ac1b4466b01de8b40a1372fc.s...
    1. He, X. , Li, C. , Qian, J. , Chui, H. , & Wu, W. (2010). Reliability and validity of a generalized anxiety scale in general hospital outpatients. Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry, 22, 200–203. 10.3969/j.issn.1002-0829.2010.04.002 - DOI